Rockstar Mayhem Festival 2009

Mayhem Fest at Nissan Pavilion

After its inaugural tour last summer, the Rockstar Mayhem Festival solidified its place as the premier metal festival of the summer. The show returned to Northern Virginia’s Nissan Pavilion last weekend with a legendary bill of metal demigods, including Marilyn Manson, Slayer, Killswitch Engage, Bullet for My Valentine, Cannibal Corpse, Trivium, All That Remains, The Black Dahlia Murder, God Forbid, Behemoth, Job for a Cowboy, and Whitechapel.

The 2009 Mayhem fest showcased the genre’s understated depth, featuring aggressive sets from thrashers, glimmers, mainstream metal-core and more hardcore death and black metal acts. Heavy metal has never been big on subtlety, and neither were the raucous concertgoers. Metalheads spanning three generations moshed and crowd surfed across three stages for 11 straight hours in near 100-degree heat, resulting in one epic dustbowl, countless bloody elbows and one hell of a good time.